Trish Skelton of Skelton Farms, www.skeltonfarms.com, has allowed me to post here her cooking tips on Piedmontese (Heart Healthy) beef. We hope these suggestions will help your dinning experience. Click on their farm link above and if you are out Pennsylvania way-check them out.

Grass Fed Beef Cooking Tips

There’s nothing average about our Piedmontese Beef. Like all Piedmontese beef & grass fed beef of any breed, Our beef cooks differently from the grain-fed beef found in most supermarkets and butchers. This guide will help you get the best results. Think of Grass Fed Piedmontese Beef as the new FAST food! If you remember that it cooks faster at lower temperatures you will be pleased with the results.

Quick Tips In a Nutshell

1)Keep It Frozen ~ Until you are ready to use it.

2)Thaw it completely before you cook it! You can thaw in the refrigerator for a day or so or in a bowl of cool water on the counter if you are in a hurry.

3)Please DO NOT MICROWAVE

4)Bring steaks and roasts to room temp before cooking

5)Lower the heat in your regular recipes by 25 to 50 degrees

6)Shorten the cooking time by 30% to 50%

7)Steaks can go from perfect to overcooked quickly due to the low fat content so watch carefully

8)Remove from heat when beef is 5 degrees shy of your desired internal temperature, it will continue to cook once removed from heat. Use the temperature chart below for reference.

9)Cook. Rest. Slice. Let your beef rest at least 10 minutes before slicing (20 for roasts). This allows time for the beef to continue the cooking process and a lets the juices to circulate back into the meat. Slicing before it has properly rested sends the juices dribbling onto the cutting board. And that’s not where we really want them.

10) ENJOY!!

Because our beef is lean, has little to no marbling and lower in fat than conventional grain-fed beef, its flavor is accentuated by cooking at a slightly lower temperature and for less time . So, unless a recipe specifies grass-fed beef or Piedmontese beef, reduce the temperature in the recipe by 25 to 50 degrees when cooking with our Beef. Even at the lower temperature, cooking time for our lean grass-fed beef will be about 30% to 50% less than for conventional beef, watch it closely.

How Do You Like It?

Whatever your preference,

here’s a handy list of recommended final temperatures for every shade of “done”.

120- 125* F 125- 130*F 130-135*F 135- 140*F 140-145+*F

Very Rare Medium Rare Medium Medium Well Well Done

Use a digital meat thermometer to get the most accurate reading. And keep in mind, to achieve the desired temperature, remove beef from the heat source when it’s 5 degrees shy of your target temperature – the residual heat will finish cooking the meat in about ten to twenty minutes depending on the size of the steak or roast. Because all thermometers can vary get to know your thermometer. Our family prefers that I take the steaks off the grill at around 128 degrees, still pink and juicy but not too rare.

Cooking Roasts

For Rare to medium results;

When cooking roasts it is best to sear the beef first. This can be done either on the stove top in a hot pan with a little oil (I like grape seed oil for it’s high smoke point) until brown then place in a preheated 225 degree oven until desired temperature is achieved. Don’t overcook! Or you can place your roast in a preheated 450 degree oven then immediately lower the temperature and cook to desired temp. PLEASE use your thermometer and don’t forget that even at lower temps it will still cook at least 30 percent faster that conventional beef. For roasts I use a thermometer that I can leave in the meat and check without opening the oven door.

For well done

Cooking in a crock-pot is also an easy way to achieve great results for well done meat. If you prefer, cooking in the oven on very low 200-225 degrees, with about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pan and onions also is a great way to get well done goodness.

For Great Grilling Results

*No forks – Use tongs to turn your steak or roast; a fork punches holes in the meat and allows the natural juices to escape, causing it to lose flavor and juiciness!

*Keep a lid on it – To ensure that our beef cooks evenly, leave the lid down on the grill.

*Start Steaks at Room Temp

Steaks should be at room temperature before you start cooking. That way they spend less time in the pan getting to temperature. It’s a gentler method of cooking and will deliver tender and juicier meat to your plate. Just keep in mind that it will cook quickly! Because of the low fat content steaks can go from perfect to OVERCOOKED very quickly.

*Don’t Play with Burgers

Don’t press and pat the burgers with a spatula. This squeezes out the delicious juices, and doesn’t make them cook any faster. Spatulas are just for flipping! Start with a burger that is thinner in the middle, thicker on the edges.

The Piedmontese is a medium-sized breed with an extraordinary ability to convert forage and pasture into beef. It has a fine body structure, extremely high muscularity and a thin, elastic skin. It also combines a high dressing-out percentage with a large number of excellent retail cuts that exceeds the yield of other beef breeds. Go to he website to learn more…Anaborapi